2026 Booker Longlist: John of John by Douglas Stuart

First up for panel is the book that seemed to make the most prediction lists: John of John by Douglas Stuart. Three of our panel members read this book and here are our reviews…

Douglas Stuart has quickly become one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary Scottish fiction. He burst onto the literary scene with Shuggie Bain, which won the 2020 Booker Prize, and followed it with Young Mungo, cementing his reputation for writing beautifully observed, emotionally complicated stories about family, class, sexuality, and belonging. Born and raised in Glasgow, Stuart has a particular gift for creating characters who feel inseparable from the places that shaped them. His latest novel, John of John, takes readers away from Glasgow to the remote Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides, but it finds Stuart returning to many of the themes that have made his work so compelling: identity, family, faith, desire, and the sometimes difficult pull of home.

Book Synopsis from Booker website: Out of money and with little to show for his art school education, John-Calum Macleod takes the ferry home to the island of Harris to find that not much has changed except for him. In the windswept croft where he grew up, Cal resumes his old life, caught between the two poles of his childhood: his father John, a sheep farmer, weaver, and pillar of their local Presbyterian church, and his Glaswegian grandmother Ella, who has kept a faltering peace with her son-in-law for decades.

While Cal wonders if any lonely men might be found on the barren hillsides of home, John is dismayed by his son’s long hair and how he seems unwilling to be Saved. As the seasons pass, everything is poised to change as the threads holding together the fragile community become increasingly entangled. John of John confirms Douglas Stuart as one of the great British writers at work today.

Anita’s Thoughts: Beautifully written, dark, and haunting, John of John brings a lot to the table. For me, it was a much more intriguing book than Shuggie Bain. The psychological tension was unrelenting. And undeniably, Stuart has a deep understanding of the challenges of familial relationships for so many people, and it is here where he truly excels in showing the subtleties of yearning for love juxtaposed against the yearning to be one’s own person. Most of my criticisms of the book related to the plot line: the time period, the parallel father/son storylines, the father living with the mother-in-law; all of these things had an air of unbelievability. The writing nearly overcame all that though. My final conclusion – well worth the time spent and could definitely be the winner.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 4/4
Plot development: 2/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 16/20

Jen’s Thoughts:  I really enjoy books that capture a particular time and place so precisely that you feel truly transported by the reading experience. And as a psychologist, I especially appreciate novels that dig deeply into their characters’ inner worlds—their motivations, conflicts, desires, and contradictions. John of John does both exceptionally well, creating a strong sense of place while giving its characters a remarkable degree of emotional depth.

John of John is also simply put a very well-written book, which should come as no surprise to those who have read Stuart’s prior works. Stuart has a remarkable talent for capturing psychological tension and the inner emotional lives of his characters, and this book is no exception. I took a few points off my plot rating because I found the pacing a tad uneven, but overall, it’s my favorite novel so far from what I’ve read of the longlist.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 3/5
Character development: 4/4
Plot development: 2.5/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 16.5/20

Tracy’s Thoughts: I think we’re done already. Here’s the winner. This book moved me to tears, had me gasping for breath, and feeling every feel there is. On top of the well drawn characters, the setting was perfect for the story, and so well done. There were some stutters in pacing, and it could get bleak. But in the end, there was family, hope and epiphany of a sort.

Writing quality: 5/5
Originality: 4/5
Character development: 4/4
Plot development: 3/4
Overall enjoyment: 2/2
Total: 18/20

Rankings
John of John: 16.83/20

We want to hear from you! Have you read it?  What do you think? Want to try it for yourself? Bloggers and fellow reviewers, feel free to drop a link to your reviews in the comment section.

You can purchase your copy here: John of John